


hoping you don't hate me (but you probably blame me)

by afternoonsadness



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Jealousy, Love/Hate, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 11:33:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30105303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afternoonsadness/pseuds/afternoonsadness
Summary: For as long as she could remember, Josie had always hated Hope Mikaelson. Josie thought the other girl was heartless, rude, and narcissistic. She's always been like this. The annoying girl next door, always making fun of Lizzie and bullying the other kids at school.Josie hates Hope Mikaelson, she always did. That's all that matters.But how the hell did Hope dare to sit on that stupid windowsill and look so beautiful?
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman, Milton "MG" Greasley & Lizzie Saltzman
Comments: 13
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

Josie sighs sleepily and rolls onto her back, looking up at the white ceiling of her room. She rubs her eyes to focus her vision after a long night's sleep.

The clock shows 6:48 am, which means that the girl woke up a little earlier than the alarm clock, so she can afford to lie down a little more before starting to get ready for school.

She hears soft footsteps in the next room and assumes that Lizzie must be awake by now and is actively getting ready, choosing what to wear.

Certainly. Today is the first day of the new and final school year, so the blonde Saltzman wants to look perfect, so that she can definitely impress some guy from the football team.

Josie sits up on the bed and swings her feet to the floor, feeling a chill creep up her skin. She winces until her body gets used to the low temperature in the room.

This is not surprising. It's already autumn, so the nights are a bit colder than in summer.

The first thing she does is grab her phone from the nightstand to check for any messages from Penelope.

But only then does she remember that she and Penelope broke up a few weeks ago, when she flew to Belgium to continue her studies there.

This was Josie's first serious relationship. She had never thought that she could be in so much pain.

The brunette rubs her sleepy face, trying to cheer herself up a little, and then gets out of bed and goes to the window to pull back the curtains that Caroline had carefully pulled back the night before.

Josie winces as the sun hits her face. She squints until her eyes adjust to the bright light.

A tiny smile touches her lips as she looks around the still-empty streets. She'd always liked that. 

She liked to watch the morning nature, still untouched by the hand of man. She liked to sit on the windowsill at night, looking up at the dark sky dotted with stars. She liked to dream while looking at the moon.

Obviously, Josie was a hopeless romantic somewhere deep down. But she hid it carefully, not wanting anyone to break her heart.

She smiles, almost happily.

But the smile fades from Josie's face when her gaze falls on the girl in the second-floor window of the house across the street.

Hope Mikaelson.

Hope Mikaelson, sitting on the windowsill, knees drawn up, sketchbook and pencil in hand, basking in the morning sun.

Hope Mikaelson, who looked so damn good with her hair slightly disheveled from sleep, wearing sinfully short shorts and a thin t-shirt, with a small smile on her face.

The Mikaelson girl was smiling as she drew something in her sketchbook, completely absorbed in it, oblivious to anything or anyone around her.

Josie knew that Hope was painting. Of course she knew.

Maybe someday Josie would get a glimpse of one of the drawings.

For as long as she could remember, Josie had always hated Hope Mikaelson. Josie thought the other girl was heartless, rude, and narcissistic. She's always been like this. The annoying girl next door, always making fun of Lizzie, making fun of the other kids at school.

But right now, at this moment, Josie couldn't fucking take her eyes off her. As if it was beyond her. As if she was the only thing that mattered at that moment.

Since when did Hope live across the street? Josie doesn't remember it anymore.

All she remembers is that it was early spring. She was eight, and she was suffering from another cold.

Her parents were at work, and Lizzie was hanging out with MG. And Josie was supposed to lie down and call in an emergency. Get more sleep. How can she sleep when the walls are suffocating? When the sudden temperature jumps throw you into the heat, then into the cold. Or is it not the disease at all? 

Josie woke up and realized that she was hot again. It's unbearably hot. Air, she needed air. She tossed the blanket aside and slowly made her way to the window on wobbly legs, so that she could open the fucking window and get some fresh air. She needed it. Otherwise, she would have suffocated. 

And that was when Josie first saw her. 

Hope and her family had just moved in. A man was taking boxes of things out of the trunk of a car parked in the driveway, and a small red-haired girl with charming freckles on her face was standing a little to one side, smiling and talking to a woman, her mother, probably.

Friendly neighborly acquaintance then did not work out. Alaric said something about the Mikaelsons being bad people and gave it up, more concerned about his daughters getting involved with little Mikaelson.

Josie feels her mouth go dry as her gaze drifts down from the red-haired girl's face, deftly skirting the slender legs exposed to her eyes.

At the same time, Josie wants to hit herself to get the shit out of her, to get the thoughts of Hope Mikaelson out of her.

She must not think of her.

Josie hates Hope Mikaelson, she always did. That's all that matters.

But how the hell did Hope dare to sit on that stupid windowsill and look so beautiful?

Startled, Josie pulls the curtains shut when she sees movement in the window across the street. She's breathing hard, and her own heart is beating so fast, as if it's ready to burst out of her chest at any moment.

What the hell is she doing? Why the hell was she spying on Hope Mikaelson?

Before Josie can think of anything more embarrassing than Hope's sexy figure, the door to her room opens with a distinctive creak.

"Oh, so you're already awake. Okay," Lizzie purrs and heads to the brunette's desk, "I wanted to borrow some lipstick from you."

Josie chuckles, somehow unsurprised by her sister's appearance on the threshold of her room. Even if Josie had been asleep, it probably wouldn't have stopped the blonde Saltzman.

"Of course," Josie says with a sigh, "You can take whatever you need."

Lizzie is busy digging around on the table, trying to find the right lipstick. Josie is trying to sneak off to the bathroom, thanking God that her sister seems too preoccupied with her appearance to notice the brunette's strange state.

Despite the beginning of autumn, it is still hot outside during the day. So Josie is incredibly grateful to the universe when she gets out of the stuffy interior of the car and sniffs the fresh air.

Alaric wishes his daughters a good day, but Josie ignores it, smiling into the cool morning breeze.

"Move your legs, if you don't want to be late for that old fool Vardemus ' first day," Lizzie mutters, nudging her sister to start walking.

"As if you care," the brunette purrs back, starting to walk across the school parking lot, "Unless literature is your favorite subject."

"I don't want to get an extra assignment in the first grade, that's all."

"Yeah."

Before first class, they also meet MG and Landon in the hallway, pausing for a few minutes to talk to them. 

Chatting with MG, Lizzie doesn't look so concerned about being late. In fact, if it hadn't been for Josie, the blonde Saltzman might have been standing there all through recess.

At times, Lizzie was too obvious with her feelings for MG. 

Before leaving, Lizzie wishes MG luck and doesn't miss the chance to call Landon bird boy.

"Get your ass ready for a whole hour of Vardemus' boredom, sis," Lizzie teases with a smile, nudging her sister as they enter the class.

Josie rolls her eyes with a smile and takes her seat, while Lizzie walks further down the class to take her seat in the back.

The brunette pulls out a textbook and all the boring things from her bag when she catches a red spot on the right side of her eye. 

Sure. She shares literature class with Hope.

Josie had forgotten all about it.

The red-haired girl is sitting a foot away, whispering to Maya in front of her, not noticing Josie at all. While the brunette feels damn vulnerable.

The red-haired girl doesn't smile much when Maya says something and then laughs.

Hope sighs and leans back in her chair, and Josie, like a frightened rabbit cornered, turns away, but it's too late. 

It's too late. Hope had already noticed her gaze. The red-haired girl grins, almost narcissistically, and gives Josie an appraising look, her eyes sliding over her long legs.

Josie feels even more vulnerable. She feels like a victim trapped by a skilled hunter.

Class starts, and Josie tries not to be distracted by Hope, who doesn't seem interested in the class at all and prefers to stare out the window at the football field and everything.

When Vardemus talks about the project, a wave of dissatisfied sighs rushes through the class, and some even resent aloud, entering into a verbal altercation with the teacher.

But not Josie. She's actually quite happy about it. Unlike most of the other students, she is really interested.

The work they will analyze is "Pride and Prejudice."

Josie is happy, until Vardemus also mentions that this project will be paired.

The brunette frowns and hopes that her partner will be someone who is at least a little interested in a good assessment, that she will not have to do all the work alone.

But Josie's hopes are dashed when Vardemus reads out the list of couples.

"Josie Saltzman and Hope Mikaelson."

Fuck.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of Josie's literature class feels weird. She still can't wrap her head around the fact that she's supposed to be working on a project with Hope.

Just think.

She and Hope Mikaelson.

The girls, who seemed to have hated each other since childhood, had to work together on a school literature project.

In fact, when the Mikaelson family first moved to Mystic Falls, Josie tried to befriend Hope. She really tried.

The brunette Saltzman still remembers how she once invited Hope to visit, and then they watched cartoons and laughed all evening. Josie had thought the Mikaelson girl had a very pretty smile. If only she knew that this would be the last time she would see the red-haired girl smile.

These memories will always remain somewhere in the back of Josie's mind. She would always remember that.

Well, that's completely changed now. Hope Mikaelson was no longer the little girl with the cute freckles on her face that Josie had always found so charming, and a beautiful smile. 

Josie's grown up, too. All she saw in Hope now was narcissism, overconfidence, rudeness, callousness, and coldness.

Cold.

That was what Josie associated Hope with.

At times, the brunette thought that her blue eyes were so cold that they could turn everything they looked at into ice.

And so it was.

At times, when Josie met Hope's eyes for a moment, she felt as if the red-haired girl's gaze had pinned her to the floor, pushed her aside, and doused her with ice chips. At such times, the cold snaked up her back, crawling under her skin with an unpleasant sensation.

Josie seems very thoughtful, so she doesn't notice someone calling her name. 

She feels a rough grip on her arm, just below the elbow, and stops where she is.

"Hey, Saltzman."

Sure.

Josie can recognize the voice without difficulty. This cold and rough tone, literally repels you with its leaden and icy notes.

And if Josie gets a shiver of some kind, she pretends not to notice it.

"What do you want, Mikaelson?"

Josie turns and pulls her hand out of the near-death grip. She feels her skin stop burning where Hope's fingers were a second ago, and it turns a little red.

Definitely a bruise.

Hope's gaze drops to where the brunette was rubbing her hand, and for a second her face seems to soften, but then it returns to an indifferent expression.

The red-haired girl lets out a short sigh before answering.

"Are you free on Thursday night?" Hope asks, arching one eyebrow and studying the brunette's face intently.

Josie almost blushes under her gaze before frowning in embarrassment, pulling her lower lip into her mouth.

"What are you talking about?" 

Josie has no idea what Hope is talking about, but she definitely wasn't planning on seeing Mikaelson on Thursday night.

What is this, another joke?

Hope lets out an exasperated sigh, barely able to keep from rolling her eyes.

"You were so busy with your stupid notes that you didn't listen to Vardemus at all? Or do you just have hearing problems?" Hope hisses with obvious annoyance, looking almost angry, "Although I'm more inclined to the second option."

Josie frowns, biting the inside of her cheek. She clutches the strap of her bag, which is digging too hard into her shoulder, trying to adjust it. 

What an idiot. She had already forgotten about this stupid project.

"Do you have to always be so rude and tactless?" Josie's brows draw together, "Why do you always try to start a fight?"

Hope chuckles dryly, rolling her eyes and arching an eyebrow, silently answering all of the brunette's questions.

Josie sighs when the Mikaelson girl doesn't answer her.

As expected and predictable.

"Um, yeah, I'm free," Josie replies after a few seconds, shifting uncomfortably on the floor and clutching her books tighter to her chest, as if in a defensive gesture.

Josie can only hope that her face doesn't turn red at this point. But from the way Hope looks at her intently, that's not the case at all.

Josie almost blushes even more when the Mikaelson girl looks at her.

"Fine. I'll meet you at your place at seven tonight," Hope says, and walks past, narrowly missing the taller girl with her shoulder.

It's aggressive.

Josie turns and opens her mouth to protest, but Hope is already gone. She can only see the red-haired girl's back.

The brunette frowns, and she doesn't like the idea of being in her room.

Why couldn't they meet at Hope's? This would be much better and more efficient, as Lizzie is usually very noisy, and this can interfere with the work on the project.

For a second, Josie even thinks about catching up with Hope and talking about it, but then she shakes her head and shakes her head.

No contact or conversation with Hope other than necessary.

Josie is still staring in the direction Hope left a moment ago, and she doesn't notice Lizzie sneaking up on her.

"What the hell did she want?"

Josie almost flinches when she hears her sister's voice close to her ear. She turns abruptly and notices that the blonde is frowning.

"It's about the project," Josie explains shortly, "I, uh, I have to go. My next class is chemistry. Dorian will be angry if I'm late."

"Okay, but don't forget that after school, we're going to watch the football team selection!" Lizzie says one last thing, trying to shout over the noise in the hallway as Josie takes a few steps away.

Lizzie watches her sister disappear among the other students and sighs before heading to her class.

—

Josie bursts into the chemistry class seconds before the bell rings. She takes a quick look around the classroom and sees that her usual seat next to Emma has been taken by a guy, and the only empty seat left is next to Jade or Jed.

Jade wasn't the best choice, but she wasn't the worst choice either. Simply because they had never spoken, or even barely spoken. Besides, chemistry is the only class they share.

Josie had no idea what kind of person Jade was, but her good looks and good grades in chemistry tipped the scales in her favor.

As for Jed...It's not like he's a bad guy. He was kind of Hope's "best" friend, following her around with his tail. That was all Josie needed to know. 

Without wasting too much time on the choice, Josie quickly approaches the right table and plops down on an empty chair.

"Hi," the brunette says on an exhale, slightly out of breath from walking quickly through the long corridors.

"Hi," Jade replies simply, glancing briefly at the other girl.

That's all the other girl says, and Josie starts to feel uncomfortable. She shifts in her chair, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Do you mind if I—"

"No problem," the blonde shrugs with a small smile before Josie can finish, "I'd love to work with you, Saltzman."

Josie looks at Jade in confusion for a moment, then smiles slightly, nodding. She's not so nervous anymore.

Well, maybe the chemistry class won't be so bad after all.

And so it was.

Josie barely notices as the class ends. 

Time passes so quickly that in the end, she even feels a little sorry that the class is ending. Josie feels a slight sense of dissatisfaction.

Jade really wasn't the worst of the bunch. In fact, she was very polite and quite nice. During the class, they even laughed a little.

Before leaving, Josie says goodbye to her and smiles, sincerely thanking her for her good work in class. 

When the rest of the classes are over, Josie meets Lizzie near the football field. Her sister was already sitting in the bleachers, staring at a football player.

Josie plops into the seat next to Lizzie, but Lizzie doesn't even notice her, staring at the guy on the field. Her eyes light up slightly as he takes off his T-shirt, revealing perfect abs.

The brunette Saltzman chuckles slightly and turns her gaze to where her sister is looking.

Ethan Mac. 

One of Hope's henchmen.

"Okay, maybe he's a little hot," Josie says as her gaze wanders over Ethan's bare torso.

"Super hot," Lizzie purrs, and only turns her head a second later to see who she's talking to, "I thought you forgot."

The brunette shrugs vaguely.

"Well, that might not be the worst distraction from," Lizzie cuts herself off in mid-sentence, "You know," she adds with a sigh.

Josie bites the inside of her cheek, "Her name is Penelope, Lizzie. You know that very well."

Not that Josie was still suffering. Still, a bitter taste builds up on the tip of her tongue when she says her name.

"Whatever you say," Lizzie shrugs, still watching Ethan, "You could use a distraction anyway. Luckily for you, today is the selection day, which means that all the hot beauties from Mystic Falls High will be here."

Josie winces at the thought of contacting someone on the football team. 

"But that doesn't mean I want to...That I want to hook up with someone," Josie pulls her lower lip into her mouth, sighing.

"Why not?" 

A light breeze is blowing outside, and Josie winces slightly as she rubs her hands just above the elbows. The skin on the exposed areas is covered with coarse goosebumps.

"I prefer to be distracted by other things," the brunette Saltzman replies, frowning slightly as she looks from her sister to the field.

That's when brown meets blue.

Standing in the middle of the field, Hope stared at Josie as if it were so commonplace.

Hope's hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, and Josie can see the tension in the girl's jaw. 

Obviously, Hope is unhappy or angry about something again. Although this time Josie did absolutely nothing.

Except that Lizzie had dragged her to this stupid selection, which didn't interest the brunette Saltzman at all.

Josie feels her skin tingle in the exposed areas. She almost wishes she hadn't worn such a short skirt, but she knows it's not the temperature that's giving her the creeps.

But Hope quickly turns away, continuing to talk to Maya.

Josie feels like she's still in some kind of trance, and she doesn't take her eyes off Hope.

Of course Hope is here, and she's doing the screening. After all, she's the captain of the soccer team.

The brunette inhales convulsively, but feels that she lacks oxygen, feels that she is suffocating.

"Penelope is not the last person in this world, Jo. You just have to accept it. First love most often ends in heartbreak and tears," Lizzie says with a soft smile, placing a hand on her twin's shoulder.

Josie flinches when Lizzie touches her. She was too busy looking at Hope. 

Again.

The brunette sighs and smiles a little.

"Maybe you're right."

Lizzie rolls her eyes with a grin, "Of course I'm right."

—

As Josie and Lizzie are about to leave, coming down from the bleachers, someone calls out to the brunette Saltzman.

She stops and turns around.

It's Jed.

The guy runs up to Josie and stops a step away from her, panting and smiling a little. Training had just ended, so his hair was wet and sticking out in all directions, and beads of sweat were running down his face, hiding somewhere in the collar of his red and black t-shirt.

Josie looks at him a little surprised, raising her eyebrows in question. 

What could Jed possibly want?

"Jed?"

He takes a few deep breaths to catch his breath before he speaks.

"Yeah, it's me," he scratches the back of his head awkwardly, "I just thought maybe you'd like to, um, hang out together somewhere?"

"Hang out? Together?" Josie tilts her head slightly to one side, asking again. She frowns in confusion, not quite sure what Jed wants.

"No, no, I meant—" He sighs, touching the back of his head again and ruffling his hair, "Damn," he mutters softly, looking down at the ground.

Josie bites the inside of her cheek and wraps her arms around herself.

"Look, if this is some kind of underhanded plan, Mikaelson—"

"No! Of course not!" Jed interrupts, looking a little startled, "This has nothing to do with Hope."

Josie opens her mouth, blinking in surprise.

"Nothing?" 

Jed sighs and rubs his neck awkwardly, avoiding Josie's direct gaze.

"But then—"

"Then I just wanted to ask you out," the guy says softly, and a faint blush appears on his cheeks.

"Oh," Josie breathes.

"Jo, hurry up!" Lizzie calls out to her, stopping at the edge of the soccer field, a few feet away from Josie and Jed.

"I—I'll get back to you later, okay," Josie says with a hopeful smile, before turning around and taking quick steps to catch up with Lizzie.

As she catches up with Lizzie, she feels someone's gaze boring into her back.

And it's definitely not Jed.


End file.
